not to mention the masterbation thing.
Why so much mental illness among JW's?
by cherjcd 41 Replies latest jw friends
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OrbitingTheSun
By the same token, how many of you have experienced noticeable improvement since leaving the organization?
When I stopped attending meetings/going out in field service, I actually felt better than I did before ever becoming a JW. I think after having lived under such restriction, I finally learned to appreciate my individuality and all of the freedoms that I previously took for granted.
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JT
We torment ourselves , with our own conscious, we are taught by the WT that everything should bother our conscious and if it doesnt then something is wrong. Then we try and make it happen.
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deep point- so true indeed-
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JT
So low paying jobs, kids to raise, bills to pay, low self-esteem constantly instilled in you for "not doing enough", stuck in bad marriages, being forced to attend 5 meetings a week plus service service service, where 99% of the time, you don't want to do this............gee, I wonder why there's so much mental illness...........pretty rare you ever see someone with a PhD become a Witness.
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you all are on a roll, yep the avg hall consist of "Cheese Cracker- men/women"
then to consider what WT promises, as i always say whether you like it or not /wt sells a damn good Product- problem is they can't seem to deliver it-
i mean if you are some white chick living in the hills of KY working like a dog at Piggly Wiggly, hubby is laid off half the year , broke down chevy pickups in the yard, front door steps are falling down and a pretty couple come to your door and pull out the slick sales brochure and ask that powerful question that in almost every case will get a YES!!!!!!!!! ANSWER "WOULD YOU LIKE TO LIVE IN SUCH A PLACE AS THIS"
or you are Tekisha living in the Hood in section 8 housing - trying to get that job, but it seems like it only last for a couple of months and you thought you could get off welfare and take care of your kids on your own without gov help, but you are back in line for cheese and milk and then the nice jw couple knock offering you a better way of life THE SALES PITCH WILL WORK -
i mean stop and think about it - is there ANY SITUATION in a person life where if they tell a jw-- the jw will not be able to offer a solution???????? matters not if they can deliver, but here is someone holding the most respected book in the western culture - the bible and holding out to them some clear black and white answers
i have read post here and including mine where the comment is made - being a jw you had all the answers to life problems and the answers were black and white
of course we know that in the REAL WORLD it is not that simple, but as i think back to my life esp as an Elder i felt that there was no question i could not find an answer to from THE SOCIETY'S PUBLICATIONS -
so wt due to is wonderful sales program, slick brochures and PR folks - we were all PR folks for we had to maintain this imagine OF BEING THE HAPPIEST FOLKS ON EARTH AND if we were not happy THEN IT WAS SOMETHING YOU AND I WASN'T DOING yes the blame always feel on us
i recall in elders school how the bethel instructor tried to blame the elders for THE POOR QUALITY OF MEETINGS
A number of former bethelites during lunch discussed this issue of why are the guys at bethel dogging us --as one fo the guys said at lunch that day they want us to turn hambuger into t-bone steak-
we talked about how the guys in brooklyn had nothing FRESH do any of you recall how the friends eyes would gloss over with NOT AGAIN as an elder tried his best to put the best face on WE ARE HAVING THE REVELATION OR UNITED IN WORSHIP BOOK AGAIN FOR THE BOOKSTUDY
I MEAN damn how many ways can you ask the same question 5 times in the bookstudy
for some of you who have been around awhile we can recall exciting times at the convention, new light, REAL RELEASES not cut and paste stuff-
and after awhile this constant drugery takes it's tool on friends, i have seen the CO ask what does Mattt 24:14 say and or let's look up that text and over half the hall will not even crack open the bible and then he will say __OK we all know what it says, but it is good to read it again--
even the little 6 and 7 yr old are like -- why are we looking up that i know what that says
yes the way that the org is structured is enough to depress HOMEY THE CLOWN
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minimus
If one third of the population have mental problems at one time or another (per Ballistic, I think), then wouldn't that factor in to JW's? Most JW's that I know do not have mental illness. Some, a few, do. However, MOST JW's that I know ARE depressed.
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ISP
Minimus...........I couldn't say that I knew many with mental problems in 20 years......thowever. there was a mass of folks with stress, anxiety,depression........I think we know why!
ISP
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Englishman
I think that the whole problem is caused by lack of self esteem.
Think about a mo; survival is an inbuilt instinct within us, yes?
The JW's supress that emotion totally. "Man is sinful therefore he is deserving of death!"
"I am such a bad person that God sacrificed his son for me!"
Even the natural inclination to reproduce is stifled, No sex please, we're JW's!
In short, all natural inclination and emotion is stifled, one is not even allowed to become angry!
THE REPRESSION OF AGGRESSION WILL RESULT IN DEPRESSION.
Englishman.
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Faraon
If one third of the population have mental problems at one time or another (per Ballistic, I think), then wouldn't that factor in to JW's? Most JW's that I know do not have mental illness. Some, a few, do. However, MOST JW's that I know ARE depressed.
Most people with mental problems can mask them quite effectively. They are drilled over and over on how to act. Try this sometimes. Ask them a doctrinal question that will require them to think. Watch their expression. They will go blank! Then they will roll their eyes to the side frantically trying to search for an answer that will match the will of their masters. If they can't think of it, they will change the subject.
If you tell them they are a cult, they will always say that a cult worships one individual, not a group. They haven't the foggiest idea of what a cult is all about. They will only answer what they were indoctrinated to answer. When you give up your freedom to think for yourself, you have mental problems.
Search your CD-ROM under "independent thinking" see how many hits you get. Yet independent thinking is what separates human from trained animals.
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Sentinel
Because many are actually suffering an honest-to-goodness mental condition, which needs to be treated properly. One of those might be Bi-Polar, another might be Sczophrenia, another might be Social Phobia. There are many, and they are valid health issues.
Unfortunately the WTBTS teaches there followers that any kind of emotional unbalance or depression or disturbance is a sign of being attacked by satan and his great horde of demons. They openly criticize these types of medical doctors, ones who treat such illnesses, labeling them as quacks. Such problems indicate that the person has not "tried hard enough" to be a proper christian, according to the standards imposed by the borg. This person must be a sinner, opening him or herself up to demonic influence. Or the person must be associating with "outsiders" and has become weak. The person dares not seek help, because that would not be the correct thing to do. Instead they must suffer, many times in silence and misunderstanding.
How prehistoric! How inhumane! How unchristian! How unloving!
I happen to know personally of someone very dear to me who suffered that way. She got out and got help and is now leading a very productive life. I took her many, many years.
Most of us know what depression is. I have been in the midst of it for a couple weeks, but I have won the battle this time. I have known very deep depressions while "inside". I tried to cover it up and that was not a healthy thing to do. I pretended a lot. I suffered so much I nearly destroyed myself. My instincts for survival were much stronger.
I don't have to pretend anymore. It feels wonderful to be free. Free to feel what I need to feel, to get help if I need it, and not have to worry about being labeled by the JW's.
Love and Light,
Sentinel/Karen
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minimus
FARAON, If you equate giving up your freedom to think with having mental problems,are you saying that ALL JW's have mental problems?